Jealous
by Ramona Bandicoot
Summary: Dark nights, Latin music, and dancing can all equal a perfectly romantic night. But when someone tries to ruin that...jealousy can ruin that perfect night. -oneshot-


**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I want to thank "XMimiBelleX" for the story idea. And I'm sorry for the delay in posting it! I've been busy the past few days and haven't had time to write. But I did finally get it posted so I hope you like it! And on another note, I haven't stopped Who Framed Inspector Fox, like I just said I've been really busy and haven't had time to write and since I had two requests I wanted to get them written before that story. But I should update that in a few days so I haven't stopped it! But other than that, please read and review and let me know what you think._

Jealous

I passed by the other party goers silently and kept an eye out for my intended target, a rather large and rather expensive Mexican fire opal. My team and I were in southern Mexico at some sort of party, I didn't really pay attention during Bentley's lecture, but we weren't here for entertainment. We were there to steal that fire opal. This is if a certain Australian tongued thief didn't get there before I did. I knew Ramona was around here somewhere, I just had to find her first before she got her thieving paws on that opal. I did have to admit, Ramona had an advantage here. Since her family was half Spanish, she was fluent in Spanish and could understand what was being said around her. I knew a little of the language myself, mainly from hearing Inspector Fox or Ramona rant and rave in the language, but I wasn't fluent. I knew a few phrases like good morning, hello, what's your name, and things like that, but it wouldn't be enough for me to figure out what was being said. Even the band sung completely in Spanish and I had no idea what they were talking about. This would be a difficult heist, but I think I would be able to pull it off. I kept walking around, keeping an eye on the display case that housed the opal and keeping another eye out for my rival.

I finally spotted her strolling around through the people slowly, observing her surroundings. We were in an outside garden area with a temporary hardwood floor to serve as a dance floor and standing place for the people. Lanterns surrounded the area and gave everything a soft, orange glow. I made my way over to the raccoon and looked over her attire. She wasn't one to normally wear red, but she did look beautiful tonight. Her dress was a bright cherry red and sparkled in the light. It was close fitting, low cut, and short, about mid thigh, showing off her toned legs, and had no actual sleeves but did have wide shoulder sleeves. Even the back of the dress was low cut, stopping at her lower back and showing off a good portion of her back. Her hair was pulled up high on her head and cascaded down her back like a flowing waterfall. I ran my fingers over the lower back, chuckling as she jumped at my touch. She turned around with wide eyes but they were soon replaced with a small smile and a raised eyebrow.

"It's a little early to start flirting, isn't it?" she purred as I stood in front of her.

"It's a little early to loose half of your dress, isn't it?" I referred to the length of her dress and she briefly lost her smile.

"Maybe," she shrugged before stepping closer and whispering, "but I saw you staring." She smirked before turning around and running her tail across my nose.

"I was not staring!" I laughed before following her. Her heels clicked on the floors below us and I heard her giggle at my comment.

"Oh you weren't? Well then you might want to wipe the drool from your chin." She winked and tapped her index finger on my chin. Another giggle escaped her lips as she strutted away, swaying her hips in the process. I shook my head at the raccoon and chuckled. No, we weren't a couple, but we sure did act like it sometimes. I picked on her, she picked on me, I nagged at her, she nagged at me, I protected her, she protected me, I had feelings for her, and she had feelings for me. We just clicked but we also fought constantly. Always striving to get to get on each others nerves while on a job and bickering whenever we had the chance. The music stopped briefly and the band that was playing stepped down from the stage to mingle with the other party goers while a pre-recorded selection of music played. My eyes landed on the opal and I looked around, searching for an easy way to get a hold of it. It was in a small case in the front of the dance floor, which would make it difficult to get it without anyone seeing. I'd either have to cause a distraction or get assistance from Bentley and Murray. I wasn't about to ask Ramona, she was here for the same reason.

I couldn't go right out in the middle of the ballroom, smash the case, and swipe the opal before scurrying out of here, it needed to be almost seamless. A turtle in a wheelchair would be completely obvious here and an awkward, chunky hippo in a crowd full of tanned, skinny people would stick out as well. I couldn't go up and pick the lock in the middle of a ballroom; it just wasn't going to work. So, I had to have Ramona's help. The only thing was…who would get the opal? She was as headstrong as I was and if she help steal it, she wasn't about to let it go and neither was I. I guess we would sell it and split the profits fifty-fifty. It was a big fire opal and would certainly bring in a huge large amount of money, enough to satisfy the two of us. I strolled around the dance area, looking for the raccoon to see if she would be willing to snag to opal together. In a matter of minutes I'd been able to slip away and into the large crowd of dancers. I started weaving my way inside the circle, searching for the thief. There was a small circle of people dancing in the middle of the floor and everyone else was chatting quietly around them or out in the garden a few feet away. I looked at the people dancing in the circle, she was there and she wasn't in the garden. She was around here somewhere, but where?

The tail on my fur started bristling and I could feel my ears press against my skull when I did finally see her. She was standing to the side of the dance floor, chatting and laughing and smiling while talking to one of the members of the band that was playing a few minutes ago. I didn't speak fluent Spanish, but I knew exactly what he was doing. He was flirting his way with Ramona and she was going along with it! I strolled behind her, looking like I was getting a cup of punch or a small finger food, while listening to their conversation. Again, I knew I couldn't understand them, but I'd been around Ramona long enough to pretty much decipher what her mood was simply by her tone of voice and laugh. She let out another laugh and I'd heard enough. I stormed away from the raccoon and into the much quieter garden. I huffed as I sat on one of the benches and crossed my arms over my chest. I may act like I'm being childish, but I had good reason! She and I had been through countless things together and just to see in chatting away with a flirty band member she'd met minutes ago certainly got my blood boiling. Yes, I was jealous, I was really jealous. I noticed Ramona come trotting into the garden and eventually set next to me; a small giggle coming from her throat and a smile on her face.

"Looks like you're enjoying yourself." I muttered, keeping my gaze straight ahead, not even glancing in her direction, "It looks like you're having _loads_ of fun." I noticed she had turned to face me and the smile had disappeared from her face.

"I've had my fair share of laughs, but what's got your boxers in a bunch?" she crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing," I looked to her and unfolded my arms, "Nothing, I'm fine! I'm perfectly fine! Why would you think something's wrong with me?"

"Have you talked to yourself in the last two minutes? Ten minutes ago you were perfectly fine, but now you're about as sour as week old milk." She pulled away from the bench and started me down, waiting for an answer.

"I'm fine, Ramona. You just go back and have fun with that fast talking singer and I'll go pull of my heist." I stood and tried walking away but her claws sunk into my suit jacket and pulled me back down. "You're jealous!" she said loudly after I had fallen back on the bench, "You're jealous because I was talking to someone who puts on the charm. I swear every time someone has a romantic interest in me you get jealous!"

"I'm not jealous! Why would I be jealous? It doesn't matter to me if you flirt with someone or if someone flirts with you! I don't care if you date someone! I'm perfectly fine with it; I don't care! It's not like we're anything special! We're just two rivals who happen to fool around on heists and have kissed a few times. That's it! Nothing more!" her ears perked and she scoffed.

"Well it's nice to know how you feel!" she stood and started to walk away, "And just to let you know," she said as she turned around briefly, "he asked me to dance during his next break and I said I'd think about it. But guess what? I think I will! And if he asks me to dinner, I'll go to dinner with him!"

"Fine!" I shouted as I twisted to face her, "I don't care what you do!"

"Fine!" she was just as angry as I was and started storming off back to the dance floor.

"Fine!" I tired getting the last word in, but of course I didn't.

"Fine." She said with a shrug as she strutted away angrily. I pressed my ears against my head and turned to sit correctly on the bench. I growled to myself and stood from the bench after thinking for a while. At this point I didn't care about the opal at this point, now I was determined to battle it out with Ramona. Well, not really fight, either make her jealous herself or simply straightening things out.

I silently worked my way back up to the dance floor. Again, I spotted Ramona casually walking around, looking for something to do until it was time to dance again. She looked behind her shoulder and rolled her eyes when she spotted me. She flicked her tail at me, sort of like a silent 'screw you' type of gesture, as she slowly strolled away, keeping her gaze away from mine. I shook my head at the raccoon and searched for her 'date'. He was back on stage performing, and might I add that he wasn't that good musician to begin with, and keeping his eyes fixed on Ramona. I already wasn't too keen on him putting his moves on her and following her like a puppy still in need of its mother, but if he even touched her, not to mention anything else, I'd knock him flat on the ground. And if I was caught, oh well, I'd get caught. I'd worked too long and hard to get where I am with Ramona and I wasn't about to throw that all away for some screwball musician. Again, the band dismissed and a selection of prerecorded music started playing.

I noticed the man that pursued Ramona jump from the stage and start walking through the crowd. I followed him, making sure he didn't try to pull anything on Ramona. Sure, maybe I was overly jealous and might be considered a stalker for following them, but I didn't care. I stopped in front of the snack table and kept my eye on the musician. He chatted amongst the few people left on the dance floor; the others had decided to leave for a speech from the host. I munched at finger sandwiches while listening to the man, granted…I didn't know what was being said but it was better than nothing! He eventually turned to the table and started picking food for himself. I said nothing to the man or even look at him while he got his food. My stakeout wasn't going anywhere and was rather boring. He shoved down a few sandwiches before meeting Ramona in the middle of the ballroom. I watched and felt my blood boil and my temper start to rise when I noticed him slide his paw around her waist. He squeezed her hip as she strolled away from him. That was the final straw with me. Letting my temper get the better of me, I simply strolled over to that low-down singer, simply tapped him on the shoulder, and punched him square in the face as he turned around. He fell to the ground with a groan and I was pretty pleased with myself. That punch just made my day. That's when I realized Ramona noticed it. She motioned me with her finger to meet her on the edge of the dance floor. Knowing I'd get yelled at, I went to Ramona's side and shoved my paws in my pockets.

"You saw that, didn't you?" she nodded and folder her arms across her chest, "Look, I know that punching him probably wasn't the best idea, but-" I stopped talking when I noticed she wrapped her arms around my chest in a hug. She wasn't mad, but instead she was actually happy.

"I'll admit," she mumbled, "I was ready to punch him in the face myself." I chuckled and hugged her back. My paws went to her waist and she smiled. I used one paw to brush her bangs from her face and tuck them behind her ear before running my fingers down her jaw, tilting her head upwards. I simply leaned forward and pressed my lips to her. I didn't care about stealing that opal anymore. Instead, I stole a kiss.


End file.
